We will outline the social and legal history of how the court system illegitimately claimed that corporations should be considered "persons" with inherent constitutional rights. We will also describe the growing national movement to amend the US Constitution to abolish this legal doctrine.

An outline of an original political philosophy, based upon the bias in favor of the extravertive, cognitively analytic mind in American politics.

William Kreml has been a professor of political science for 46 years and is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Political Science at University of South Carolina. He is the author of eight books, and many articles and chapters on political theory and American government. He is the creator of an original political philosophy based upon the subjectively-based rather than objectively-based biases within American politics. He was a Democratic candidate for President in the 1984 New Hampshire primary and the 1992 South Carolina primary. He competed in the South Carolina Democratic Caucuses in 2000 running on the issue of campaign finance reform.

Courting the Anarchist Vote: Finding the Common Denominator of Autonomy, Darin Robbins

This presentation has two goals: proposing that if placed on a chart of political ideology the Green Party would be closest to anarchism, and through a generalized analysis of anarchism demonstrating that those who identify as anarchist should be approached by the Green Party for coalitions or direct support. These two goals will be achieved by concentrating on such issues as the resistance to hierarchy, the distinction between liberty and autonomy, and the role of power in an anarchist or Green vision.

Darin Robbins became a member of the Green Party in 2000 and now serves on the State Committee and the Exective Committee of the Green Party of New York State. He is a founder and regular contributor to the green theory blog, A Green State of Mind. Darin has run for City Council in Corning four times, and is currently working on a citywide ballot measure that would allow taxpayers to allocate where part of their tax payment would go in the city budget. He spoke at Green Fest in 2003 and 2009. Darin is a lifelong resident of Corning, NY.

Ecological Socialism vs. Capitalist Exterminism, Howie Hawkins

What's wrong with capitalism: institutionalized theft (exploitation), periodic crises and stagnation, class polarization, racism, and national chauvinism, war and militarism, endless growth, externalization of costs onto society and nature. Particular problems of monopoly capitalism. What is socialism: economic democracy (not just social insurance). Ecological socialism as a democratic planning for a sustainable steady state economy. Historical socialism and ecological socialism. Eco-socialist models. Eco-socialist strategies in the era of globalized monopoly-finance capitalism.

Howie Hawkins is a Teamster and Green Party activist in Syracuse, NY. He has been an organizer in movements for peace, justice, labor, the environment, and independent politics since 1967. Howie currently serves as co-chair of the Green Party of New York State. In 2010, he was the Green Party candidate for Governor of New York, receiving nearly 60,000 votes and securing a ballot line for the Green Party for the next four years. Howie is the editor of Independent Politics: The Green Party Strategy Debate (Haymarket, 2006). He was a presenter at Green Fest 2003 and 2007, and lives in Syracuse, NY.

Leveraging Privilege to Transform Oppression & Build Power, George Friday and David Cobb

Two veteran activists will share details about how they effectively work to dismantle conditions that perpetuate continued corporate power by centralizing race in their practice. Lessons regarding the importance of acknowledging and acting on the reality that a consistent practice to undo the lessons learned by living in US culture where oppression and white supremacy is so pervasive, builds skills to act as effective agents of change and consistent allies. The depth and quality of trust and authentic relationship that results builds power that cannot be undermined!

George Friday works as consultant to nonprofit organizations seeking to build capacity and organizational strength while acknowledging and addressing issues of oppression and privilege in ways that build community. She is the National Coordinator for the independent Progressive Politics Network, and Field Organizer for the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, and co-chairs the North Carolina Green Party and the Green Party US Black and Women’s caucuses. George has served on several boards and Steering Committees including the Institute for Southern Studies, the Grassroots Policy Project, American Friends Service Committee, United for Peace and Justice, the US Social Forum National Planning Committee, and Move to Amend. She lives in Charlotte, NC.

Malapportionment vs. The National Popular Vote: Initiatives to Reform the Electoral College, Asa Gordon

This presentation will explain why the Green party's Initiative to Democratize the Electoral College by enforcement of the malapportionment penalty (MAP) clause of the constitution is the correct progressive choice for the popular election of the president, and why the National Popular Vote NPV initiative is not. The MAP initiative is grounded in the abolitionist post civil war reconstruction amendments to reconstitute the constitution with the DECLARATION, whereas the NPV initiative is grounded in the Constitution's original franchise by racial quotas and the Redemption era politics that overturned reconstruction to reestablish white supremacy. The Malapportionment Penalty initiative requires enforcement of the Reconstruction amendment that mandates a state's proportional allocation of presidential electors based on the popular vote split or suffer a Reduction of Representation in the electoral college or in members to congress. References: http://www.electors.us Under a National Popular Vote bill, all of a state's electoral votes would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia;, http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ Green Party US press release on civil action challenges the legitimacy of US Representatives from southern stateshttp://www.gp.org/press/pr-national.php?ID=412

Asa Gordon is the Chair of DC Statehood Green Party Electoral College Task Force, a member of Delegate Apportionment Committee of the Green Party of the United States, and is the founder and executive director of the Douglass Institute of Government (DIG). His work spans democratizing the Electoral College, constitutional penalty for voter disfranchisement, 14th Amendment right to vote provision, to neo-confederate culture in American politics. Rep. John Conyers, speaking of Asa's voting rights remedy, declared, "This is the most amazing proposition that has ever been brought forward, and if it is accurate, it could change the whole outcome of the voting process in the United States." A retired NASA Astrodynamicist, Asa is published in international scientific journals. His research has been employed by private industry, domestic and foreign, for tracking satellites in space. He served two terms as President of the Goddard Engineers Scientists and Technicians Association (GESTA). His work in science is referenced in Ivan Van Sertima's Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. He is Secretary General of Sons & Daughters United States Colored Troops. Asa is a participant in the Green Party Speakers Bureau. He lives in Washington, DC.

National Lobby for 100% Public Funding of All Elections, Jennifer Sullivan, Josh Pritchett

A unified national confrontation of our elected officials in DC is a necessary endeavor for the Green Party to undertake. If our party, or any others that are outside of the Twin Powers, are ever to gain a foothold on political power in this country we need to change the way elections are funded. Federal law trumps all state & local laws, so the logical place is to start there.
This is an issue on which we can get broad support throughout the political spectrum. It would benefit our party to be the first national party to attempt this goal in several ways: The positive publicity that Greens are free from bribery controlled voting & bringing the issue into national focus/discussion. It gives great experience to all of the participants to be within the halls of Congress & it's a vital step in giving us a chance to compete without having to raise the ever escalating amounts of funds.

Why political independence for the Greens is a first principle, not a contingent tactic. Historical and class basis for political independence. Case studies from democratic revolutions and populist, socialist, and green electoral insurgencies. How "Popular Front" coalitions of radicals with liberals inside the Democratic and other capitalist parties shrank and weakened the democratic Left. How the Greens emerged globally to challenge social democracy's co-optation into an essential buttress of capitalist welfare/warfare states. Why a "United Front" of Greens and other independent progressives is a prerequisite for empowering a Green Left and building a democratic ecological society.

Howie Hawkins is a Teamster and Green Party activist in Syracuse, NY. He has been an organizer in movements for peace, justice, labor, the environment, and independent politics since 1967. Howie currently serves as co-chair of the Green Party of New York State. In 2010, he was the Green Party candidate for Governor of New York, receiving nearly 60,000 votes and securing a ballot line for the Green Party for the next four years. Howie is the editor of Independent Politics: The Green Party Strategy Debate (Haymarket, 2006). He was a presenter at Green Fest 2003 and 2007, and lives in Syracuse, NY.

Reviving State Green Parties: the Massachusetts Example, Jill Stein and John Andrews

After a decade of stagnation,the Massachusetts Green Party is on the rise—drawing in supercharged activists, reviving local party chapters, re-populating dormant committees, and launching exciting electoral and issue-based campaigns. In part, the revival is driven by the growing disillusionment from the corporate political parties— whose betrayal of the public good becomes clearer by the hour. It also results from deliberate changes in the party structure and outreach strategies that bring Green politics into key areas of progressive dialogue and action in Massachusetts. In this presentation, we'll share what's working for us in the hopes it may be of use to you. And we'd like to hear about challenges and triumphs in your state party organizing.... so we can grow stronger together, and become the unstoppable national vehicle for political transformation that's so urgently needed.

Jill Stein and John Andrews are co-chairs of the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party. John has been campaign chair, and Jill has served as candidate in four races over the past ten years, including a run for Secretary of the Commonwealth (which garnered 18% of the vote), a run for State Representative (beating the Republican candidate), and most recently a run for Governor. They also co-founded the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, an organization working to strengthen socio-economic, environmental, cultural and democratic foundations of healthy communities. In response to the growing state of emergency, they are among a group of local activists now focusing their organizing efforts fully on building the state Green Party.

Resisting Neoliberalism and Organizing for Eco-Justice in the Americas, Ursula Rozum

Since 2004, Central New York activists have been organizing a sister community relationship with the Small Farmers Movement of Cajibio, sharing organizing strategies for the common struggle of resisting corporate exploitation of natural and human resources. Presentation will focus on US military activity in Colombia, the non-violent resistance of farmers to Smurfit/Carton Colombia's violent expropriation of farm land for non-native, export oriented pine cultivation, and how activists across the America's can support one another visions for peace and sustainability.

Ursula Rozum was the upstate coordinator for the Howie Hawkins for Governor Campaign in 2010. She is active with the Syracuse Peace Council and will be be traveling with CNY activists to visit the sister community of Cajibio in the Cauca province of Colombia. The sister communities and delegation are coordinated by the Colombia Support Network. Ursula lives in Syracuse, NY.

Third Parties as Real Change, Anthony Gronowicz

U.S. third parties have acted historically as catalysts for transformation of the two-party system. They have either introduced issues that were adopted by one of the dominant parties or have replaced one of the two existing dominant parties. For example, the Liberty Party (1839) politically introduced slavery abolition as the key issue of the time. The part of its platform that dealt with the non-expansion of slavery was adopted by the new Republican Party (1854). The latter became the new "second" party to replace the Whigs that split over the issue of slavery.

Tony Gronowicz was the 2010 Green Party candidate for U.S. Congress 7 CD, the 2005 Green Party candidate for Mayor of New York City and a 1996 GP candidate for State Assembly. He serves on the Green Party of the United States International Committee. A Manhattan native, Tony graduated from Columbia College and the University of Pennsylvania where he received a Ph.D. in New York City political history. He edited Oswald Garrison Villard: The Dilemmas of the Absolute Pacifist in Two World Wars (1983); and authored Race and Class Politics in New York City Before the Civil War (1998), and Last Western Empire: A History of the United States from Spring to its Fall (2011:2006). Tony teaches, US history, Global Civilization, Political Science and Human Geography at the City University of New York. He spoke at Green Fest in 2007 and 2009 and lives in New York City.

As a social activist of change, you obviously are concerned about the blatant xenophobia and bigotry surrounding the Muslim community in the US. Yet, you may not have access or opportunity approaching this community. This session will discuss barriers of communication, ways to build solidarity, provide tools to organize, and outreach to the Muslim community effectively and strategically. Prerequisite: if you are unfamiliar with Islam, review website: http://www.islamicfinder.org/faq/list.php

Farheen Hakeem is one of seven National Co-chairs of the Green Party of the United States, and was the Green Party candidate for governor of Minnesota in 2010. She lives in Minneapolis, MN.

What would a Green Non-Violent Foreign Policy Look Like?, John Rensenbrinck

The workshop features four questions for exploration and discussion. Each question will be introduced by a presenter for 3 to 5 minutes, followed by discussion with workshop participants for 10 to 12 minutes.

First, Must intervention by the U.S. government in other countries always be ruled out? Can a distinction be made and consistently adhered to between military intervention and non-military intervention? On what basis would non-military intervention satisfy the criterion of non-violence?

Second, If and when the U.S. government were to begin full-scale withdrawal from its 800-plus military bases, and if and when it pursues a policy of peaceful relations, how will the American people be re-assured that their security is not being compromised?

Third, Is there an alternative to world government? If not, what kind of world government satisfies the need for democracy, ecological sustainability, grass roots accountability, and security?

Fourth, What forces present today in the world could lead to the kind of world government posed in the previous question? Such forces as social, economic, ecological, demographic, political, and moral.

John Rensenbrinck was the 1996 Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from Maine, and was campaign manager for two Green gubernatorial candidates in Maine, Jonathan Carter (1994) and Pat La Marche (1998). He is a member of the Green Party International Committee and the representative of the Green Party of the United States to the Global Green Network. John is president of the Green Horizon Foundation and co-editor of its journal, the Green Horizon Quarterly, now in its fourth year of publication. He is the author of two books on the U.S. Green Party: The Greens and the Politics of Transformation (1992); and Against All Odds: The Green Transformation of American Politics (1999). Rensenbrink grew up on a dairy farm in Pease, Minnesota. He taught Political Science at Bowdoin College until 1989 when he retired to work on building the Green Party. John lives in Brunswick, ME.